The shopping at the 32-and-over forward bin has started.
The Miami Heat acquired Trevor Ariza from the Thunder, and then a wojbomb hit just at the tip of the Milwaukee-Philadelphia game that the Bucks landed P.J. Tucker from Houston.
Could Bulls forward Thad Young be next?
After all, he fits that category of tough-minded veteran forward, definitely on the back-9 of his career and the perfect piece for a contending team.
The big difference is the Bulls find Young very necessary for them to reach the postseason and give the young core a first taste of postseason basketball.
Oklahoma City and Houston are each in very different places as an organization. That doesn’t make Young even close to untouchable, but as the Sun-Times reported on Tuesday, the outside perspective is that the Bulls sound like a team staying pat to other executives as of now.
What mattered to Young on Wednesday? He played in his 1,000th NBA game once the Spurs and Bulls officially tipped off, becoming the 145th NBA player to hit that milestone.
“Great guy,’’ coach Billy Donovan said of his experience with Young. “All about the team. Appreciate the investment he has made in a lot of the younger guys because that takes energy to do that. He has been very patient with those guys. I think he’s a great role model in a lot of ways.’’
Young was moved to the starting lineup this week, so his value on the court has even increased. Specifically, the Bulls have been looking for quicker starts, and the fact that Young was averaging 4.4 assists, leading the team in steals with 1.3 per game, and has the second highest player efficiency rating (21.38) to only Zach LaVine shows the versatility he’s brought to that first unit.
“The thing that has always amazed me about his career is he’s always been a guy who has kind of played along the baseline,’’ Donovan said of Young. “I was always amazed at how well he could interior pass into tight windows. The biggest thing with Thad is when he catches the ball, he’s always under control. And he is never rattled and he’s never in a hurry. And he knows where everybody is at. And he takes his time and he’s patient. That allows him to see things and make those kind of passes.’’
Rookie blues?
Patrick Williams hasn’t exactly opened eyes since the second half of the season started last week, scoring in single digits in three of his first four games, while shooting 12-for-33 (36%) from the field. Yes, he did have a career-high 23 points in the win over Toronto, but hardly flashed in the Oklahoma City win on Tuesday.
Call it just a reminder that the forward is 19 years old, and didn’t have a Summer League or mini-camp to prepare him for his rookie campaign.
“I think the other thing too that people maybe don’t understand is he’s in a completely different role from what he did in college and high school,’’ Donovan said. “The things that we’re asking him to do, not that he’s incapable or not that he hasn’t done maybe a little of that, is he really didn’t play pick-and-roll in college. He came off the bench. The offensive game in the NBA as a whole is totally different. The level of players he is guarding is totally different. With the shortened training camp and no summer and going from the draft right to practice, he’s really responded well.’’
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